Wednesday, July 22, 2015

The House that Broke my Heart...

I've decided that house hunting is much like the search for a spouse. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. With spouses and houses, it is all about finding the one that fits you, your personality, your lifestyle and one that you have a few things in common with. You don't want one that's too big or one that's too small. You want to find the one that's just right. Hmmm, I seem to be stuck in nursery rhyme analogies for some reason.For me, house hunting is such a stressful ordeal. Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE looking at houses and enjoy seeing everyone's decorating styles, just not when I have to pick one. The hubster and I had a few requirements (our realtor hates us) in our next home: 1) a screened-in porch (due to massive quantities of mosquitoes and the fact that we are a veritable smorgasbord for these miscreants); 2) ample garage space for my car and blog projects the hubby to do whatever it is he does in the garage; 3) an open floor plan; 4) some type of hardwood/laminate flooring; 5) a fireplace; and 6) good resale value for if/when we relocate. After months of searching, we finally settled on a house (soon to be a home). However, before I reveal the one we FINALLY decided on, I want to show you a few that we had to pass on or that we lost because someone else beat us to the contract.In order to keep them all straight in our head, we assigned names to each house. Some of those names I will share, some, not so much.First of all, this is the house that broke my heart...

My first thought when I stepped through the door -- does this chick have a blog?

Everything was decorated perfectly All she needed to do was leave it all behind, I would give her my stuff and we would be set...well, I didn't want the baby furniture, she could take that with her.

This house had an open floor plan, hardwood flooring, a fireplace, a screened in porch and a nice garage...check, check, check, check, check. SSSOOOOLLLLDDD!

I loved the colors in the kitchen...

...and in the living space. The eating area was open to the kitchen and living room....

...perfect for parties. The chandy was adorable! The master bedroom was large, the master bathroom was not....

...I didn't really care about the bathroom. The hubster could use the guest bath if necessary. The guest bedrooms were small, but again, that was okay.

I was seeing stars.....no, not the ones on the baby's room wall....and having visions of little to no work on a house. A move-in ready house! I've heard tell of them, I have just never actually SEEN one before! I knew we had found our home and I was ecstatic.

Then, the hubster brought up ugly words...

E: What about the resale value for the area?B: Shhhhh, this is a perfect house.E: It's overpriced for the area.B: But it has board and batten.E: I don't think the square footage is correct, it seems smaller.B: I hope that animal head in the bonus room doesn't get left behind. E: Where will we put the office?B: In another state.E: There's no toe molding in the upstairs bonus room.B: Those little stars are removable. I love that she put the bed in the middle of the room.So on and on it went. And so did we....on our business trip to the New England area. We continued to discuss the house and decided to make an offer. When we returned, we looked for the listing to call the agent and found that it had been sold.

Stacey, you are so right and that's what we knew, but it didn't make me feel any better at the time..LOL I did ask about a blog, but the realtor didn't know. He didn't really seem interested in these things...LOL

It was a pretty house and they had done a great job with it. And no, it wasn't meant to be since we finally put a contract on a house that seems to be holding. :-) If we can make it through inspections and appraisals, hopefully we will be good to go!

Rita, it was...I was so sad. We had already looked at so many houses and this one seemed like the right one, but it wasn't. I like looking at houses through other people also...LOL...just not when I have to buy one! :-)

Hi Benita,Sorry you lost out on this one but there will be another calling your name. I lost out on a perfect house that I wanted so much and cried when we found out it sold before we even made an offer and then about a week later the house we are in now came on the market and we got this one. It was better so I really feel things work out for the right reasons. Kris

Kris, I totally agree. We found something we liked and put a contract on it. We think it will work out better for us than this one would have because of location. We are waiting to close and move and are so looking forward to it! :-)

We will be building next time around. We considered it this time, but the building time frame up here in TN is 6 months and we didn't want to wait that long...we are just ready to be in our own place! I'm so glad you stopped over to comment and hope you are doing well! I haven't seen you in forever!

Awww so Sorry you lost it. But on the brighter side, you have more time to find a house that you can decorate without feeling the need to keep the look of the previous owner. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. I have never been house hunting before, my husband had bought a house before we were married. It sounds like fun, but I'm sure it can be disappointing at times.

Thank you so much Stephanie. We hated it also but have found one that we love just as much and have a contract on it and are waiting to close. Honey, house hunting for others is fun, but for yourself, not so much...LOL. It is stressful! :-)

Oh dear, that's such a bummer. But I'll bet the one you made an offer on will be great! I think the process of house-hunting sounds like fun...but I'm pretty sure that's because I'm not in the middle of doing it right now. It's probably a bit like childbirth in that you forget the pain over time, haha.

LOL…you are so funny and so right, it is like childbirth! I do hope I forget how horrible it is eventually…well, I know I will once I can be in my own place where I can at least paint a wall…LOL. I love looking at houses, just not when I have to pick one out for me. :-)

Well do I remember kissing a lot of frogs--when house hunting, not spouse hunting!

It's so easy to see why losing this house could be a heartbreaker, Benita, but I know your heart will mend fast when you move into the one that was meant for you. And after you get done with it any stranger visiting you will think "This chick must have a blog!"

Meanwhile, I love going on the house views here at Chasing Quaintness. And remember, we both would like to wear a badge that says "House Inspector" and go knocking on doors!

LOL…you are so funny! I’ve done a lot of “frog kissing” myself…with houses and searching for a spouse! ;-)

You are so sweet Dewena and I thank you for all of your encouragement and support with my blog!! And you are so right, I think I may have to make those “House Inspector” badges for us so we can wander around together when the weather cools off a bit! :-) :-)

Hi Benita......Wow that is a beautiful home. I know you will find the perfect one for you and your family, but it is a lot of stress. You will then make it your own and it will be just as beautiful. The building a home thing....more stressful than I ever imagined....6 months.....not likely.......we are over 1 year now and still probably have 2 months at least to go. Complications galore. Oh well we will get there. Thanks for posting this fun story. Loved looking at the home. See you soon..have a great weekend.

It was beautiful, but we did find our home, so that’s a great thing! While we have been looking at all of these houses, I’ve been thinking about the few of you that I know who are building. I cannot even begin to imagine what the stress is like. And over a year??!! I don’t know if I could handle it. It seems that it is always something with the house buying/building process and that it never goes as anticipated or hoped. Thank you so much and likewise, I can’t wait to see what your new home looks like and can’t wait to see the décor…I know it will be so beautiful…your home now is gorgeous!! Have a great day!!

OH no...buying a house definitely hurts a lot. I remember having that feeling with the first house we put an offer on and then found out it was in a flood zone (so happy about that now) That house is gorgeous though...you should so tell that homeowner she needs to blog...I would definitely read it! All the best in your house hunt and making a perfect home Benita!

It is a very painful process….LOL. This one killed me. And yes, she needs a blog. They just had a baby…he’s about 2 months old now, so she would have lots to blog about! :-) And a flood zone?? That’s horrible, I know you are glad that house didn’t work out! Thanks so much Deb! We found one and are waiting to close….we can’t wait!! :-) Have a great weekend!

That house was lovely...you are right, either a blogger or a designer or it was staged...I don't know too many mothers who would hang a bunting on a crib...kinda looks staged. None the less, it was beautiful!The house that is meant to be will be...I know from experience! ;)I am loving going on these house tours with you! ;)

It was so wonderful…the photos really do not do it justice. The décor was just perfect for the size of the house…not too over the top, but just enough. You are right, it could have definitely been staged. We did finally find a house and I will be posting about it on Monday! Thank you so much, I’m glad you are enjoying it. It’s been an interesting mix of houses!

Hi Benita! I thought I should stop over and have a look around and say 'hi' since we are both contributors on Brenda's new blog.

This was indeed a lovely home, but since there's no fireplace in the kitchen (a girl after my own heart), it wasn't for you ;).

Now about those frogs...I think I kissed more than my fair share before finding my 'Fisherman', but as for houses, not so much. The house we lived in for 26 years was the second one we looked at and I put an offer in before my husband saw it. :/

Hi Doreen! Thank you so much for looking around my blog. I will be doing the same this week. I’m looking forward to working with you ladies on Brenda’s new blog. She has so much to offer women and I appreciate her thinking of me!

Yeah, the fireplaces are always a big deal…LOL. We did find a home and while it doesn’t have everything we want, it clicked enough of our checkboxes to make an offer. We are looking forward to getting settled! You were one brave woman making that offer…LOL

How neat of you to share your house hunting experience with us! So glad you've found a house that's a good fit for you! I agree tho ... That house is a true heartbreaker. Looking forward to following the rest of your journey!

I am sorry. That is the hard thing with buying a house, sometimes if you wait too long someone else snatches it us. If you love it for sure someone else loves it too. You will find the right one for you. Good luck. thanks for sharing. Karie

Thank you so much Karie. We had several this way, but this was the only one that just killed me..LOL. We did finally find the right house and are waiting to close. YAY Thank you so much! Have a wonderful evening!

Thank you so much....while we were upset about not being able to get this house we knew that something better would be coming along. The house we are buying is a much better buy and in an area that suits our lifestyle much more! Have a great day and thank you for stopping by! I hope you will visit again soon! :-)

Wow, what a beautiful space! I hope I'm able to make mine look just as cozy and inviting. She did a great job. Sorry you didn't get the home, that's so hard! I hope you found one you love! So glad I found your blog!

Thank you so much Leah! I'm glad you found it also and thank you for stopping over! :-) I hope I can make the one we bought look cozy and inviting also. It will be a challenge for me...LOL Have a great day!

Thank you so much Tara! It is hard, because every house you look at you compare to the one you really love. Then, when it doesn’t measure up, you have to move on. We did finally find a house and hope to close in the next few weeks! Have a great day!